Darkest Desires
by Syn'ph
Summary: "I don't mind abiding by your wishes," Reborn drawled, causing a shiver of fear to travel down Tsuna's thin spine. "But I have a request of my own." The boy swallowed. "What is it?" "IF I fulfill your every command, you must fulfill a certain desire of mine..."
1. Cost of Freedom

**Darkest Desires  
**

Rated: T+

Summary: _"I don't mind abiding by your wishes," Reborn drawled, causing a shiver of fear to run down Tsuna's thin spine. "But I have a request of my own." The boy swallowed._

_"What is it?"_

_"If I fulfill your every command, you must fulfill a certain desire of mine..."_

As far back as he could remember, Tsuna was always bullied by his classmates. Throwing his desk out a window, writing hateful comments on his papers, ripping up his homework, all of those things constituted in his daily life. It only got worse as he got older. Maybe it was around this time when he heard from one of his classmates about a certain site. On this site, if you gave them your personal information and a reason for visiting, one of the seven would attend to whatever it is that you needed. Tsuna thought this was the perfect solution to his bullying. But the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

A/R: I'm sure some of you recognize my username. Yes, I am the one who created, "Permanent Error". I know I should be focusing on that series instead of this one, but I was so pissed today, I had to make this story. (Well, I didn't _have_ to, but I felt strongly impressed to.) There was a certain book I wanted, and for me, books, education, and fanfiction are the top of my list. Well, I had waited five months for this book. It wasn't like it wasn't out yet or something, but my parents were busy, and I really didn't feel bothered with getting a driver's license, so I couldn't drive myself. (That was stupid.) Short version: I couldn't get it.

I decided that if I couldn't read the book, I would make something similar to it. Well, although it is not like it at all, the preference is similar. I thought Reborn would be a perfect character for the second part, and Tsuna for the first part. With that...

**Warnings:** language

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! The idea in which this originates from is Maya Banks. Yep. Now I won't be sued...

* * *

Tsuna only sighed helplessly as he came face to face with the gigantic building that was maybe one-hundred times his size. And what lied inside reduced him down to a simple ant that was afraid of getting crushed or eaten.

The boy almost shuddered; that description was so accurate, it wasn't funny.

But still, he had to go in sometime. If he didn't show up to school, the principal would definitely call home. If he did, his mother would call him, and he'd probably come home to a lecture.

Though thinking about it, a lecture was actually better than getting bullied non-stop. So turning back, he began to walk the streets, hearing the hum of silence fill his ears like the pipe water that his classmates sometimes dunked his head into.

But two things stopped him.

One: there was a police officer _right in front_ of him. The police officers in Namimori Town were known to penalize students harshly if they skipped.

Two: His gym teacher was standing a ways from the gate, but his eyes were trained right on Tsuna.

Between these two threats, he quickly weighed his options. Should he try to side-step the professional worker and his teacher, or should he surrender quietly and await his doom, which was sure to happen?

If he side-stepped the police officer to the left or right, with the pace he moved at, Tsuna was sure to get caught. But if he tried to run pass the gym teacher, he would only pull Tsuna by him arm and jerk him back.

"I have no choice," he mumbled as he turned back to the now terrifying gate. Now that he knew that there was no way out, the once gigantic yet harmless gate turned into a horrifying, bone-chilling gate that promised nothing but pain and suffering.

He walked slowly beyond the gates, watching as the other students hurried in groups of fives and tens, laughing happily. Not one of the seemed to pay attention to the brunette, but he knew that one of those groups were laughing at _him_. It wasn't just paranoia; he knew it from experience. They would wait until he was close, and then they would start talking about him like some celebrity.

But Sawada Tsunayoshi was no celebrity. He was a fourteen year old boy who was bullied most of his life.

It proved to be true when passing by, he heard his most familiar-yet most hated nickname-name being uttered from one of the students.

"Look, it's No-Good Tsuna." More laughing was heard.

"I thought he skipped or something."

"He should. We won't have to see his face anymore."

And then, as if all on cue, every group of five and ten started to laugh. And Tsuna could do nothing more then run past them, to try and fight the crimson color that threatened to take over his face.

He quickly slipped on his other pair of shoes-thank god there were no nails in them this time-and proceeded to open up his locker when-

_Bzzz!_

"Gah!" Tsuna jumped back in pain and shock as he registered what just happened. A bee was stabbed to his locker with a pin, and it's stinger pointed directly at him. He only watched as the bumble bee tried to struggle its way from the pin, but the pin only dug itself deeper into the body of the bug.

And then all too soon, the bee stopped moving.

Tsuna could only watch in horror as the bug twitched like a roach as its life started to fade away like the blood drops on his clothes. He never liked seeing life die...it pained him, because he knew that once a life was taken away, and it popped out of existence, it never came back. No amount of "I'm sorry" or "Please come back to me" will ever make whatever died come back.

But he knew. This was another plot of his classmates.

So ignoring the dead bug with a heavy heart, he opened his locker and inserted his shoes inside.

Good. Nothing strange there.

He then proceeded to walk to his classroom. Although all of those students were out of there, he knew that classes started soon. Even if everyone else was late, he could not be late. The teachers wouldn't punish them, they would punish _him_.

Why, you ask? Because he was the outcast. The teachers don't blame the hundreds of students, they blame Tsuna for not fitting in.

That's messed up. But he is used to it by now. But just because he's used to it doesn't mean he'll like it.

He opened the somewhat empty classroom; a strange student with silver hair and turquoise eyes sat in the very back, his legs kicked up, and a shy girl with another school's uniform on sat in the front, quietly reading a book. Tsuna didn't even notice she was there until he heard the faint sound of a page turning.

Looking around the classroom, he searched for his desk. There were twenty-nine students in the class, including himself, and there were...twenty-eight desks?

The boy groaned. Not again.

"They took your desk to the gymnasium," the silver-haired boy muttered in the back. Tsuna's wide eyes darted to him.

"Really?"

"What would I profit from lying," he snapped. "And with a dumb fuck like you?"

The boy only shrunk back at his classmate's tone. He didn't mean to rile him up, but he had to be cautious. For all of his life, he has been deceived, and then brutally hurt or played with. Didn't he understand that?

...

Of course not. He doesn't care. But then, if he didn't care, why would he always tell him when his classmates did this?

Oh yes, this isn't the first time this particular student told of this. In fact, every single time this happened, he would tell him immediately, so most times Tsuna wasn't late for class. But even though he helped him out almost every single time, the doubt that was in Tsuna's heart never vanished.

But in this one occasion (more like every occasion), Tsuna trusted him and thanked him.

"Thank you so much, Gokudera-kun." The silver-haired boy known as Gokudera only snorted, and leaned his head back against the wall. He watched as Tsuna briskly ran out of the classroom, and almost wanted to chase after him, but his pride wouldn't let him.

Irritated at the cowardice of himself, he clicked his tongue and turned his head away from the retreating brunette.

* * *

Later, when Tsuna retrieved his desk and chair from the gym, returned back to class and was heading home, he heard his classmates talking. For once, and thank god for that, it wasn't about him, but about something different.

Something about a site.

"It's a new thing nowadays," one of the girls in the group of five said, flicking back her blond hair. "Apparently there are seven rich and important people, and as a part of a money-maker for...the Arcobalerno Organization or some dumb shit like that...anyways, you go on their site, and on the main page they ask you for your personal information and why you are there. If you put an answer that they like, they will come to your house and follow any order you give them, under the proviso that you pay them 10,000 yen* every two days, and that you answer their 'wish'. I thought it was fake until my cousin did it and she got this handsome dude who used to be a lieutenant for the military."

Another girl gasped. "Maybe I should try it."

"Do it! Though, there is is down-side to it." The other girls leaned in, waiting to hear the rest of the gossip. Tsuna wasn't usually one for gossip, but this time...and this time alone, he would listen.

If it would stop the back-stabbers, the ruining of the desks, the _kidnapping_ of desks, the pranks, and most importantly, the isolation, he would do it in a heartbeat.

"There are very few people who got one of the seven, which is what makes this whole thing so special. Even if you offer them money, they'll take the money and leave you hanging."

"Isn't that illegal? It's almost like stealing, right?"

"Not in their book. In their book, you had knowledge that there was a money transaction, so they aren't liable." The girls continued to hem and haw, but Tsuna turned back to his backpack, continuing to collect and neatly put away his items.

Before, it sounded okay. Before, he wouldn't have minded doing it. Now, he thought that whole deal sounded shady. If you go on their site, put in personal information and a reason for coming, they may or may not serve you. In addition to that, you have to pay an astronomical fee _and_ listen to_ their_ wishes? What if their wish was to kill a thousand men? You would be in trouble for that, not them.

He got up and walked out the door, and no one payed attention to him. That was to be expected. But this time, unlike every other time, he didn't care. He had an escape before him-a risky one, but an escape nevertheless-and it stayed on his mind so heavily that he didn't think of anything else.

He could go on this site, put up his personal information and his reason, and pray to any deity above the heavens that one of them would have sympathy on him and help him. Or, he could just leave it alone and save himself...because honestly, even if he had gotten a so-called special person of the seven, he could deny them of their wish and the result would be the same. They wouldn't help him.

The more he thought about it, the more stupid it sounded.

But he didn't rule it out. He was desperate enough that if push came to shove, he would probably go on the site anyways and let what happen happen. But push isn't quite up to shove yet, and Tsuna was still hesitant.

After all, if anything happened to him, his mother would be all alone. Her husband, Tsuna's father, never came home, and when he did, he was drunk. He couldn't depend on his father, and really...they had no other family to depend on.

Tsuna sighed tiredly, rubbing a slender hand over his temples.

_Was possibly sacrificing family the cost of his freedom?_

If it was, then maybe he should just discard this useless idea of escape that his classmates unknowingly gave to him, and stay in the bondage of his sadness and pain forever.

* * *

A/R: I had a lot of fun making this chapter. And I hope, from the bottom of my heart, that you had fun reading it.

But it's 2:19. Why the hell do I always do this?!

Anyways, please give me some feedback on this story. :D Love you all.

Oh! Wait! About the 10,000 yen, I looked it up on Google. Every Japanese Yen is .010 US Dollars. So, 10,000 Yen is roughly $100 dollars. That's a lot of money!

And if I'm wrong, blame it on GOOGLE!


	2. He's Weak

**Darkest Desires**

Rated: T+

Summary: _"I don't mind abiding by your wishes," Reborn drawled, causing a shiver of fear to run down Tsuna's thin spine. "But I have a request of my own." The boy swallowed._

_"What is it?"_

_"If I fulfill your every command, you must fulfill a certain desire of mine..."_

As far back as he could remember, Tsuna was always bullied by his classmates. Throwing his desk out a window, writing hateful comments on his papers, ripping up his homework, all of those things constituted in his daily life. It only got worse as he got older. Maybe it was around this time when he heard from one of his classmates about a certain site. On this site, if you gave them your personal information and a reason for visiting, one of the seven would attend to whatever it is that you needed. Tsuna thought this was the perfect solution to his bullying. But the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

A/R: I am pleasantly surprised with how much feedback I get...in fact, I want to thank everyone later on, but I have been so busy of late. I know, I said I wouldn't be, but things...happen. But anyways! I don't really have much to say, except for the fact that I'm a little surprised more people didn't bother to review. I'm not saying I'm not happy with your feedback, please don't misunderstand me, but I just thought that more people would have said something, especially since a considerable amount of you favored and followed my story. I know there are five people who did review, and because they did, I want to thank them profusely, along with everyone else who gave me feedback in other forms.

Oh, and this is a **R27,** for anyone who asks.

Disclaimer: I don't own. Happy? No? Well then. :P

Warnings: **language**

* * *

As soon as Tsuna left the classroom and he was down the hall, he knew there were two things he did terribly wrong.

One: he left early. _Early._

Now that doesn't seem like a big deal. So what? Tsuna left early. He could meet his mother from her tiresome job, help her around the house, meet up with his best friend and 'brother' Dino, and he could avoid fights and arguments like the ones he had today. Right?

Wrong.

Leaving early was possibly the _worst_ thing he could have ever done. Leaving early meant groups of students with after-school programs will be there, laughing and wondering why 'No-good Tsuna' is showing face instead of leaving after everyone was gone. Leaving early ensured humiliation. Leaving early meant getting his money stolen.

And leaving early meant getting beat up.

Tsuna considered going back to the classroom, but he was already at the head of the steps leading to the door outside. If he turned around now, he would have to face everyone in the hallways, who would give him some sort of insult or another.

That was the second thing Tsuna should have never done. He should have never lingered around the hallways. He should have walked straight on out and taken whatever came. But now that he stopped...now that he helplessly and desperately looked down the hallway to his class, students started to come.

Jeering. Teasing. Insulting. Whispering. Stabbing.

At Tsuna.

He heard the whispers of "Look, it's that No-good Tsuna again. Shouldn't he be hiding under a desk or something?" and the stabs students who passed by innocently did with the tips of their sharp pencils.

Damn it, he wasn't some dartboard for peoples' amusement. He was a _living_, breathing, bonafide human with red blood cells like everyone else!

...So why was it that he only received this treatment?

Because he was weak. He was mentally-weak and physically weak. There was nothing that could protect him from his classmates. He could only run down the fifty or so stairs to his locker and open it up to reveal-

_Frumg!_

"Ngh!"

...a family of thumbtacks, accompanied by the occasional tape balls scattered on the top and bottom.

The boy bit his tongue in pain, trying desperately to block out the triumphant laughs that surrounded him. He shakily pulled out the thumbtack from his finger, watching as the pulp of blood on his finger expanded until it slowly walked down. Taking his outside shoes with the other hand, he slammed his locker shut, fumbled with his other shoes, and ran out of the door. He could always clean his locker early the next day.

Tsuna ran out of the school building, his finger still pulsating from the loss of blood, and started to leave the premises of the school when someone called out to him.

Of rather, _they_ called out to him.

"No-good Tsuna!" At first, Tsuna stopped cold. He feared what happened if he didn't, and who wouldn't? But it was that fear that ultimately drew him to start jogging at a slow pace.

"Hey!" It was then that Tsuna could hear feet pattering after him, and he desperately tried to run faster. But Tsuna didn't earn "No-good" for nothing. He ran as fast as a turtle, if you could imagine that.

Within seconds, his seniors caught up to him, and while he was exhausted, they didn't even break a sweat.

Damn it, this was bad. He knew he was at a disadvantage; he couldn't do anything even if he wanted to. He only took in heaps of breath as the students surrounded him, a sneer present on their faces.

"No-good Tsuna," one of them hissed as he cracked his knuckles, "I thought we got you good last time. Why are you back in school again?"

"And with no wounds, no less," another added in.

Tsuna could feel himself caving into his shell; he was in deep shit, real shit, and had no way out. He could feel the sharp jabs of pain as one of the students kicked him in the side, all while saying, "Do something, will ya?!" But he couldn't do anything; what did they expect him to do? Fight back? Spit at them? Glare at them? Or put on a show for them?

It didn't matter what they wanted him to do; the fact was, he couldn't _do_ anything.

He could only lay there as they punched him, kicked him, whacked him, and did everything that _he_ wanted to do to _them_.

Because he was weak.

He sighed in relief as they departed. They were satisfied in beating him up, and as long as they didn't come back for a while, he didn't care.

Yes. That was how cowardly he was. He would rather run or get beaten up than to fight back.

At this point, he trudged on home, limping a bit from the pain. This was bad, but it could have been worse. Tsuna _did_ break an arm once.

He didn't care so much that he got beaten up; this was normal, after all. What he was worried about was how to explain these cuts to his mom and Dino, who was sure to come to his house today.

* * *

Tsuna neared his house in a matter of seconds after coming from school. The one good thing about when he got beaten up and he had to walk home was that his house was nearby. He didn't have to trudge on and on and hope that he didn't pass out by the time he got home.

Because damn, those wounds on his arms hurt.

He opened the door to his house, half-hoping that Dino was in the kitchen or something with his mom. Unfortunately, there was no such luck.

"Tsuna," he said in a form or greeting as he fingered the boy's hair, "how are you?"

The boy could almost feel the fear crawl up his throat. Quickly, he shoved it down with a small smile.

"I-I'm fine," he replied as he quickly side-stepped away from him.

Go to the bedroom, go to the bedroom...

"You okay?" Again, Dino tried to approach him and again, Tsuna moved away. If he could help it, Tsuna would put bandages (that would fall off later) on his arms and soothe his legs with ice packs and petroleum jelly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the boy replied again as he got closer to the stairs leading into his room.

"I just need some rest." If possible, he didn't want Dino to know what happened today. The last time Dino got wind that Tsuna was being bullied at school...well, let's just say that the students didn't bother Tsuna again for quite some time. That wouldn't be so bad, but then after they got over the shock, it got even worse.

He didn't want a repeat of that.

"Is that so? Well, I had brought a friend over because your mother isn't in today and since you don't have school tomorrow, I thought we could hang out a bit."

At the word "friend", Tsuna perked up a bit. Most of Dino's friends tended to be really nice, and they usually included him in everything. When he was upset, they seemed to know just what to do, and they didn't over react like Dino sometimes did. But that's not the point. If they were there, he didn't have to be scared all of the time. He could be himself, just like he was with Dino. And Tsuna liked that. A lot.

"But if you don't want to go, I can canc-"

"No, I'll go," Tsuna replied hurriedly. "How soon are we leaving?"

"I wanted to leave as soon as you got ready."

"Then I'll get ready then. Give me ten minutes," he called out as he jogged up the stairs, feeling spikes of pain escalate up and down his legs as he did. His train of thought immediately went to the site that his classmates were talking about earlier, but he quickly pushed it out of his head. He had no reason to make a sacrifice like that. He wasn't that desperate, not yet.

Tsuna walked into his room without a care in the world, gathering a set of clothes that he took into the shower. As he closed the door and turned the knob so that a blast of hot water came out, he idly looked at the bruises on his arms, legs, and surprisingly, his stomach.

"They look worse then I thought," he murmured as he pressed on one of the bruises lightly with his finger. It was almost like Godzilla grew a thing for humans and ate at the insides of their bodies, leaving only the outside swelling and purple. And if that sounds disgusting, that's exactly what it looks like.

The boy washed himself (minding the cuts and bruises), tended to his wounds, changed his clothes, and headed downstairs. Dino was waiting for him with a patient expression, and pointed to his friend.

"That's my friend." The person wore a black suit and a yellow shirt, along with a black tie. A fedora sat neatly on his head, and two sideburns hugged the sides of his face. The first thing Tsuna thought about this person (besides how weird he was to wear a fedora inside of a house) was how cool he was. Confidence oozed from his very being. That kind of thing was something Tsuna could only _dream_ of.

Said man turned to him, and after eying him carefully, flicked his fedora upwards and held out his hand.

"Chaos," he said as a greeting. "I'm Reborn."

* * *

A/R: Thank you to everyone who favored, followed and reviewed! I will probably update this week, and then not again until next month. This has also become my primary story; Permanent Error is now on hiatus until I can get the giddy-up with that story.

Please, if you liked the story, please give some feedback! I am very happy with this story (it is sooo much fun to write), but if you guys aren't having fun, then what sense does it make for me to make this?

**xxXnazaraXxx**: Tsuna will be fine! Don't worry, I won't make his pain everlasting. Besides, that's not the purpose of this story. :D

Edit: I made a few mistakes. Just fixin' them...

*dig dig*


	3. Paranoia

Darkest Desires

Rated: T+

Summary: _"I don't mind abiding by your wishes," Reborn drawled, causing a shiver of fear to run down Tsuna's thin spine. "But I have a request of my own." The boy swallowed._

_"What is it?"_

_"If I fulfill your every command, you must fulfill a certain desire of mine..."_

As far back as he could remember, Tsuna was always bullied by his classmates. Throwing his desk out a window, writing hateful comments on his papers, ripping up his homework, all of those things constituted in his daily life. It only got worse as he got older. Maybe it was around this time when he heard from one of his classmates about a certain site. On this site, if you gave them your personal information and a reason for visiting, one of the seven would attend to whatever it is that you needed. Tsuna thought this was the perfect solution to his bullying. But the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Disclaimer: I forget these a lot...it's so tiring to write them. Wait...did I write one in the last chapter?!

**A/R:** I...am a bit spoiled, I admit. I should be thankful for what I do get (in review and feedback form), and instead I get upset when I don't get what I want. So I'm sorry for that. I won't complain when I don't get as much as I would want. So again, sorry, and if you like it, give me some feedback. If you don't like it, don't say anything. THANK YOU GUYS FOR 50 FOLLOWS! *sniff* You guys really make me happy!

Thanks for...6 more reviews! ^.^ I'll be positive about it, and hope that more of you share your opinion. I hope I answered everyone (who isn't Mr/Ms.A.N.O.N). Please PM me if I didn't. Guestie reviews are at the bottom.

Also, as I was telling someone, slash is going to come soon. Very soon. And when it comes, it will be dark. I am warning you in advance, so when it does come, I won't have complaints of "What the hell is this, you sick-" and things of that nature. Granted, it is a few chapters from now, but it is still near. So yeah.

Last thing! This chapter doesn't get any close to the main point, but it does give a little background on Reborn, and what he is like. It also gives a bit of insight about Tsuna.

Warnings: **language, rocky chapter **(sorry...if you don't know it, I'm BAD at transitioning...)

* * *

"We need to stop by a few places." Thankfully, after the man called Reborn introduced himself, they immediately were picked up by Romario, another one of Dino's friends. He is really more of an associate of Dino's, since they do work together, but they are together so often that it's kind of hard to call them that.

"Eh? Where?"

"I need to go home first. Then we have to go to the airport to pick up Reborn's friend-ah, associate," Dino rephrased as he glanced at Reborn's slightly scowling face. Seeing that they were going to the airport, Tsuna asked quizzically,

"Where did he come form?"

"China," Reborn immediately answered, touching one of his sideburns before staring outside the window. "He had some business to do, but now that it's over, he is returning back here."

"Oh."

After that, Tsuna remained quiet. Unlike everyone else whom he has met, Reborn put him at edge. Was he really a friend of Dino's? It was kind of hard to see these two hanging out on a regular basis. Besides, Reborn seemed more like a co-worker then really a friend.

But just because he was quiet didn't mean the trip to Dino's house was.

Reborn started to question Tsuna like crazy, almost treating him like he was a prisoner then really a friend of Dino's. And for some reason, that nerved him more then the attitude of the man himself.

"Tell me about yourself." He stared at Tsuna with a roaring passion, almost like an old lion that was ready to attack. But unlike an old lion, Tsuna wasn't sure if the older man had more bark then bite.

"I...I am Tsunayoshi Sawada, but everyone calls me Tsuna," he began, scratching at his head nervously. "I am fourteen years old, and my birthday is October 14."

"I don't mean like that," the older man cut in, flicking his fedora almost irritably, "I mean _you_. I don't mean _about_ you. Is that so hard to understand?"

Okay, that was rude. And uncalled for. It wasn't like Tsuna was a mind-reader, where he could tell the difference of what he meant and what he said. If he could, he would have said something to Reborn's liking, not something to irritate him.

But again, Tsuna could feel the confidence oozing from the man, and somehow, it seemed to drain the confidence from himself...well, the little confidence that there was.

Instead of fighting what the man was saying-which, was the most logical and most appropriate thing to do-he instead cowered back and started to appease the man.

"I...don't know exactly what you want me to say," he mumbled. This was the exact opposite of what he thought would happen. He thought that Reborn would be nice, would encourage him like the rest, and maybe he could become best friends with the man like how he was with Basil, who was away in Italy right now.

But it's not like that. Right now, he's being challenged. And right now, he would have preferred to have stayed at home, to curl in the dark by himself and maybe read a good book or watch a good movie.

...Not to be chastised by this man whom he had an unnatural respect for. And yes, it was _unnatural_. Who still respected a man that treated you like shit? Normal people wouldn't. But its because Reborn had confidence poring out of every tiny, microscopic pore that Tsuna respected him. He didn't like him, per se, but he did look up to him. He wanted what Reborn had. Confidence. Reassurance. _Power_.

"Tell me what you like, what you dislike, how you _feel_," Reborn clarified. His expression softened a bit (for some reason that Tsuna nor Dino could understand), and he tapped his finger against the stainless glass. Well, it wasn't stainless no more, because his fingerprint was on it. But it was slight, and unless you looked for the print, you would not find it.

"Isn't that about me?" Really, Tsuna couldn't tell the difference. But Reborn could, and was willing to tell him that he could.

"No. When I say about you, that means the cold, hard facts," he explained quickly. "Your name, age, sex, birth date, status in school, those kind of things are_ about_ you. When I say to talk about _you_, I mean the things you like, the things you hate, what you feel like when you are in a new environment-"*****

"What does that last bit have to do with anything?"

"You ask a lot of questions, Tsuna," the older man grounded out as he flicked his fedora up for the umpteenth time as he momentarily glimpsed at the scenery besides him. The brunette cocked his head to the side slightly, still observing the man even as the car slowed to a crawl.

"Should I not?" The older man didn't say anything; he simply watched as Dino quietly departed from them; he unlocked the door to his house and briskly walked in, not pausing even a second to see if he had any mail or information from his job.

When he finally did look back at Tsuna, he only said:

"Tell me about yourself." This time, Tsuna searched for an answer in the back of his head that Reborn would like. For Dino's other friends, he didn't have to win them over; they just naturally liked him. But Reborn wasn't like that. He was calm, cool, collected, and calculated. He always thought twice before saying his mind, and his eyes revealed nothing but confidence. If Tsuna could somehow win over this man into being his friend, they could keep in contact like the rest of Dino's friends, and who knows; maybe he could help Tsuna out with his school problems.

"I...I don't like school, since I'm terrible at it. They call me No-good Tsuna-"

"Who calls you that?"

"My classmates." Seeing the blank look on the brunette's handsome face, Tsuna continued. "One of my classmates named Gokudera helps me out a lot." The boy bit his lip, trying to think of some more things that would entertain the man. To which, why did he want to know anyways? What, did he think that Tsuna was a bad person, and is judging him by what he likes and hates? Because that's the only conclusion Tsuna could come up with. And it wasn't like Reborn would give a reason, either. He didn't know this man (he only met him an hour ago, for Pete sake), but he could tell that the man held a pattern.

What pattern? The pattern of keeping everything a secret.

Stupid, right? Weird, right? That's what Tsuna thought as he observed this man's behavior. There was nothing to keep a secret; there was nothing to hide, so why was he doing so?

"I, um, usually like new places. I can make new memories, and the more memories, the better. I like meeting new people, because I can have more friends to stay with." He tried to smile reassuringly (mostly to get on Reborn's good side), but he wasn't sure if he succeeded. Reborn's face did stay the same, after all. Was it that he still didn't trust him? Why not? Tsuna tried to be friendly enough.

But apparently it wasn't doing him a hill-a-beans if Reborn could just stare at him like that.

"So tell me what else you like, Tsuna." By the time he said this, Dino came back quietly with a black plastic bag in one hand, and a suitcase in the other hand. He glanced at them, saw they were still talking...well, more like Reborn asking questions, and Tsuna answering them one by one. He knew that Reborn would have gotten _really_ mad if he interrupted this...process of sorts, so he quietly opened his door with a pinky, closed it, and issued Romario to drive.

"I like...my mom, I like the foods she makes, I like Dino-" He turned to the older blonde to see if he would say anything. But when he only smiled, he continued, "I like Basil, and I like every one of Dino-san's****** friends. I...don't really have a lot I like."

The hitman hummed in response as he used his arm as a leverage to support himself against the glass.

"So you don't like video games? Or books? Or sports? Or girls?"

"Oh, I don't mind video games. But I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one. I like books, but they're complicated sometimes, and anytime someone sees me with a book, they usually take it away-"

"Why?"

"I'm too stupid to read," the boy whispered, hoping Dino didn't hear him. But Reborn didn't buy it, and instead directed to Dino:

"You knew about this?"

"After I went to his school a while back, I thought that stopped," Dino explained, shooting a accusing look at Tsuna, who felt like withering inside. See, that was why Tsuna didn't want to tell Dino. And then Reborn just _had_ to say something. He wasn't sure if Reborn did it to help him, hurt him, or just to see what would happen. (If it were the last, Tsuna decided, then Reborn would be a bigger ass than he thought.)

But now, Dino was about to pull the, "Let's Play the 1,000 Questions Game," and Tsuna reaaallly didn't want that. He also didn't want to save his students from a world of hell that his friend was sure to deliver. So he hurriedly told them,

"It's better now, I just don't like books as much." He hoped that would satisfy them, and it kind of did. Well, for Dino, anyways. He assured Tsuna with a soft smile that he would be free to take any book from his library. Reborn, on the other hand, simply watched him with a calculative eye, and Tsuna wondered if this was all some sort of...test he had to pass.

"I have never been good at sports," Tsuna continued nervously as they neared the airport. "So I really never liked them."

Dino laughed as he glanced out the window to search for Reborn's associate. "You're just clumsy, Tsuna. But you're not bad at what you do. Ah, there he is. Romario, can you stop the car?" Again, the car slowed down to a crawl as they parked on the side of the station. Dino unbuckled his seat belt, and came out the car to greet the man.

When Dino approached the man, Tsuna watched to see what would happen. If he was like Reborn, then this trip would be a _living hell_.

Said man was different from Tsuna's imagination. He wasn't evil-looking, secretive, buff, or even cold. (This is all due to his first meeting with Reborn that he thinks this.) The man had a soft and warm presence about him, one that Tsuna really liked. He could tell by the way he associated with Dino that he was not a bad person. He wore a red, slanted shirt, and an accompanying pants. By the design, the boy assumed it was some sort of uniform the man was required to wear. He had a long braid that flowed his back, and had soft, dahlia eyes. He looked like one who could be calm at all times, and again, Tsuna felt his heart go out to someone. Again, Tsuna felt respect rise up from his stomach like bile, and pour out onto the ground. That man had something that he wanted. _Badly_.

As he came towards the car, Tsuna unconsciously moved to the next seat, fully intending to give room to the new person.

"Just because he is coming doesn't mean you stop," Reborn muttered to the boy as he also moved along with him. He knew if he didn't move then, then Fong would have kindly asked him to move in that _voice_ of his. No, might as well save the trouble.

"Um..I don't have any girls I like-"

"Not even Sasagawa Kyoko?" Tsuna almost took a double take. He didn't tell anyone about that, even Basil, so how did this guy know this?

For a second, Tsuna considered lying to him, but he didn't know what the man's response would be. He wasn't the type to lash out, it seemed, but for the most part, Tsuna didn't know him. So swallowing his pride, he confessed.

"I...have feelings for her." It was almost as if Reborn was waiting for that response, because he smirked as he opened the door for his associate. He didn't seem to be mad; if anything, he seemed highly amused. But he didn't say anything else other than two simple words.

"I see." With that, Reborn sat back, satisfied, and Tsuna was so glad the session was over. He was able to introduce himself happily to the new man (who he later found out his name was Fong), and enjoy the rest of his day.

But...as soon as Fong came, something seemed off. And Tsuna wasn't sure what it was. He wasn't sure why he felt this way, but the boy almost felt like it was...lighter when it was just Reborn, Dino and him.

As he glanced at Reborn and Fong, who seemed to be keen on not talking to one another, he felt a wave pass over him.

What _was_ this?

* * *

It got later on in the day, and eventually Dino had to drop Tsuna home. After all, he couldn't leave his mother all by herself. But during their little adventure, Tsuna learned a lot of things about Reborn and Fong. The two had a 'side job' besides their normal one. That is where they met, and where they work together. As for what this job is, Tsuna didn't know, and from the looks of it, he wouldn't know, either. Bummer. It seemed everything around Reborn was shrouded in mystery.

"Thank you for today, Dino-san." The blonde smiled as he backed away from the Sawada entrance. For pretty much the whole of the trip, Dino didn't say much on Reborn's request. The reason why he didn't say anything to Tsuna was because Reborn wanted to see what Tsuna was like for himself, without anyone giving him artificial comfort or support. Reborn wanted to see if he could trust the boy with Dino, and vise versa. He wanted to see if he posed as a threat, or as a negative influence. He wanted to see if he would be nice one moment, and hurt someone the next.

And Dino allowed him to test Tsuna, because he knew Tsuna would do well. Tsuna, despite his horrible low self-esteem, was very, very observant. With observation comes wise choices. Dino could see that in the kid from a while back. And maybe, just maybe, Tsuna could soften Reborn's diamond soul, and give him a bit of texture.

He would definitely bring Reborn over here again.

"I'll come a few more times before the month is over. And you know that you can come over my house, yes?" The younger boy shook his head enthusiastically. Every time he went over to Dino's house, he always got to meet his co-workers and friends. His close friends used to be a rival company. Ironic, right? They were an independent informational service company called VARIA, but then expanded and then merged with Dino's company. Tsuna still can't believe his eyes when he sees one of them hanging out in Dino's house, or rummaging in his fridge like he owns the place.

"Of course!"

"I will probably come back one more time this week to see how you are. Oh. And Tsuna?" The boy cocked his head, waiting for Dino to say something. The older man was hesitant, so he nudged him on lightly.

"Yes?" Finally Dino said something, albeit very softly. He looked like he was guilty for some reason, and it kind of put a bad feeling in the boy's gut.

"Sorry for today...I wasn't able to be there for you some times..."

"Oh no! It was a lot of fun," Tsuna interrupted, already seeing where the conversation was headed. "Although Reborn was a bit cold when we first met, he seems alright." Alright, if you could ignore the fact that he pretty much didn't say anything to Tsuna after that questioning in the car. What, did he hate him or something?

"Is...is he like that with everyone?"

"Pretty much," Dino sighed, shooting a look at the man in his car, smoking a cancer stick. "That's why I want to bring him over more. I talked about you a lot, and so I guess he became a little annoyed and wanted to see you for himself, probably to get it out of the way."

"Then why do you want to bring him over more?"

"If he comes more, he'll get used to you. Then we can definitely hang out more! You can come to Reborn's second job and meet Luce and the others-"

At that moment, a gun shot fired in the air. A gun shot. A _gun shot_. Tsuna almost jumped halfway to the moon hearing that. No one fires a gun in Namimori. It's just...not heard of. This town was a mostly peaceful one, not counting the tiny things here and there. So to hear a gun fire off...was scary. The boy nervously glanced around to see where it came from, only to see Reborn holding up a green gun in the air.

"Dino."

"I guess that's my cue to go," the blond said almost sheepishly. "See you around, Tsuna."

"Oh...Bye, Dino-san..." By the time he finished his sentence, the car was already half-way down the block. Still shook from the gun shot, the teenage boy shrugged his shoulders shakily and retreated inside the house.

Reborn was a fearful and confident man, indeed.

* * *

A/R: Thanks again for everyone's support! I know this chapter is a bit rocky, but its a transition. From here on out, juicy things will happen! Like steak!

...

Laugh, will ya?

Anyways, lol, here are the answers to ANONs and people I can't get a hold of.

**ImploringIdeal**: Sorry for this...hehe, if you think he's OOC, I made him based on what he was originally like. Not the Reborn that Tsuna knew. So that means he's calculative, cold, and a slight bit sadistic (that part's for my own fun). Thank you for your support! I'm sure after what I left you, you probably thought something different would happen, right? Thanks for the review!

And for the 'questioning' part, I will explain that further in the next chapter...if anyone is still there, lol. I have to admit, this transition chapter was kind of hard for me...like I said, I'm BAD at them. Not dissing myself, just stating facts...

**Alice-sama**: I did!~ But I don't think that this chapter is what you were expecting, yes? Thanks for your review!

*Reborn is trying to say without saying it that one can figure out hints of a personality and boundaries of a person depending on how they take to a new atmosphere. As someone once said, it is not those who are the strongest or the the smartest who live on, it is those who can adapt with on their environment (Natural Selection - Survival of The Fittest)

**I am not a native speaker to Japanese. But I do know that English Grammar should not coincide with Japanese honorifics. Therefore, I think it is weird to add an apostrophe to '-san'. But I had no choice!~ Tsuna always calls Dino "Dino-san"! I felt like it would be OOC if I didn't add it. If anyone knows a better way of going at it, please tell me. I want to know...

Oh! And you will understand the meaning of the title of this chapter in the next chapter! *Laughs* Keep track of what I put as titles. They have a meaning, trust me. And if you catch on to my pattern, you can figure out what will happen before you even read it!

Please tell me what you think! (Besides the fact that I suck at transitions...)

Edit: And here's a suggestion...*sulk sulk* Don't write when you're tired...I edited this thing at least five times now. I made so many tiny mistakes and I didn't realize it...and you know what they say about tiny mistakes, right?


	4. Revenge and a Little Sick Game

**Darkest Desires**

Rated: T+

Summary: _"I don't mind abiding by your wishes," Reborn drawled, causing a shiver of fear to run down Tsuna's thin spine. "But I have a request of my own." The boy swallowed._

_"What is it?"_

_"If I fulfill your every command, you must fulfill a certain desire of mine..."_

As far back as he could remember, Tsuna was always bullied by his classmates. Throwing his desk out a window, writing hateful comments on his papers, ripping up his homework, all of those things constituted in his daily life. It only got worse as he got older. Maybe it was around this time when he heard from one of his classmates about a certain site. On this site, if you gave them your personal information and a reason for visiting, one of the seven would attend to whatever it is that you needed. Tsuna thought this was the perfect solution to his bullying. But the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Disclaimer: Here lies Syn'ph, owner of Katekyoushi Hitman Reborn. Only, she didn't own it. Amano Akira did.

**A/R:** There are two reasons why I am updating this early. One: I got 300+ views in one day for the last chapter!

*cricket cricket*

Um...Okay, I know that doesn't sound like much, considering my ratings. But since the first chapter of this story, the views have been going up. For some of my other stories, the amount of viewers went down for each chapter. But seeing that it's still going up, that means that people are coming and staying, or the amount of people that leave is substantially lower to the people that come. Take your choice. But either way, I'm happy.

Two: I...can't update for a while after this. (More like two months...)

Why, Syn'ph?! WHY?

*cough* I...uh...have a summer class I have to take. I have to take a test in mid-August, and then I have to go away...to Camp...on my parents' request...for a few weeks. After, I have to get ready for school. I am in a new school now, and their requirements are significantly higher than my local one. I'm assuming I will update by the beginning of October. So, um, sorry!

**Warnings:** language, violence, angst

Enjoy!

* * *

Saturday tapped on Tsuna's shoulder, glanced at him, and kept on going.

_Sunday,_ on the other hand, found it funny to take Tsuna's hand, pull it, and hear the delicious-sounding screams that would come out the boy's mouth.

At seven in the morning, Tsuna decided to clean up his lockers of the thumbtacks and tape balls his classmates so graciously left there for him. He was glad that he wounds managed to heal in a day, or he would have used today to have rested, and tomorrow morning he would have had to clean up the mess. Otherwise, he would have to use his locker with the knowledge that thumbtacks could neatly place themselves on the top, bottom, sides and insides of his shoes.

He might as well get it out of the way, now.

The freshman sighed as he neared the school gates, once again feeling the apprehension of inferiority slither its way into his heart. But seeing that no one was there, Tsuna pushed down the horrid feeling and proceeded to walk inside of the building. It was quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop, but at the same time, Tsuna felt an ominous aura over his head. He knew, with certainty, that something bad was going to happen. What this bad thing was, however, he didn't know.

He opened his locker, meeting everything the way it was, and with a grimace, started to swipe everything out into a white plastic bag that he brought from home. He heard all of thumbtacks clutter into the bag, and with a distinct slam, he closed his locker, and placed the heavy bolt lock that Basil gave him in the hole of his locker. He clicked it into place, and with a satisfied look, started back out of the school. But something caught his eye.

A drop of blood. No, a _trail_ of blood.

The boy gasped. "Since when...?" Ignoring his previous feelings at the time, he started towards the blood, generally worried for what might have happened to this person. But then he stopped. This could be a ploy from his classmates, a trap. Why should he go? But at the same time...what if someone was really hurt? Could he be so heartless as to ignore it?

"I can jump out the window if I need to," the brunette murmured quietly, almost as if to assure himself. He followed the trail of blood to his classroom, where he saw familiar silver hair and at least twenty two of his classmates there. The desks were pushed back to the far corners of the room along with the chairs, and the silver-headed boy was fighting ten of the classmates at one time, watching out for the two that kept on trying to shoot him from the other side of the room with a BB gun.

The freshman gasped softly in shock. Weren't BB guns banned from students two years ago? How is it that that boy has one?

But that question was trivial compared to the fact that Gokudera was slowly wearing down. It seems that he has been fighting for a while. Tsuna took in the ripped-up jeans, the crumpled shirt with splattered blood, and the sweat dripping from his long hair. It was only a matter of time that the boy would just give up, and let them do what they pleased.

But it wasn't that time yet.

When Gokudera knocked out one, another would wake up, almost as if there was a timer planted inside their heads. He watched as the boy punched and kicked like his life depended on it, and once one student was down, he adjusted the necklace that was on his wrist a bit. The moment that he did that, the necklace started to change form silver to a black and yellow pattern. Still, he continued to beat up students, watching them fall down one by one.

"Won't this end," he muttered miserably under his breath as another student woke up and began to throw horribly aimed punches in his direction.

Tsuna could only watch in fear and bewilderment as his only support kept at it. And yes, Gokudera was almost at his limit. Although he was a skilled fighter, he had been fighting for two hours, with no way to escape. And the moment he stopped fighting, the moment he stopped defending himself and gave into the fatigue, the students would...

"Augh!" One of the students had found a knife-god knows where the boy got that rusty thing-and stabbed him in the neck. Almost immediately, Gokudera fell to the ground. He wasn't expecting such an attack, but now that he received it, the fatigue took over him like sleep to an infant. He tried desperately, _desperately_ to get up, to fight, but his legs wouldn't have it. He hung his head as the students started to beat on him, spitting, kicking, punching, scratching, digging, doing anything and everything to bring him pain. Tsuna wanted to help, he really did. But remembering the pain from his own beatings, he froze. Solid. Right when Tsuna froze, one of the students grabbed a desk and held it over his head. He was going to throw it at Gokudera and knock him unconscious.

It was then that, without thinking, Tsuna lurched in and tried to save him.

"NO!"

He threw himself into to room, and into Gokudera as the desk came barreling his way and hit his arm. As hard as he could, he tried to contain the pain of the attack, but in the end, the pain shot up his arm and he screamed.

Loud.

* * *

Reborn was sitting calmly in his section of the chair, observing these people called his co-workers, and watched as they joked around. They were off duty, and because of that, they decided to meet up at their formal workplace and relax. But the hitman didn't want to do that. He didn't want to be apart of their fun and games; he simply wanted to work. But SAGP didn't assign any work to him, and there was nothing he had to do for his contract-

Oh. Speak of the devil.

"Whose device is beeping like that," a young boy whined. "It's annoying."

"I think it's Reborn," another person said, folding their***** arms carefully and glaring at him.

"Isn't that your contracte calling from a distress signal?" The man nodded, looking down at his watch that flashed black and yellow on it's screen. Without another word, he grabbed his gun, Leon, and started out the door.

"You'd better hurry up," the same person said, their glare intensifying. "It'll be bad for business if someone-"

"You don't need to tell me twice, Rain," he interrupted lowly, his obsidian eyes narrowing on her. It was scary when Reborn stared at you, much less glared at you. The rest of them felt slightly bad for her, but it was also kind of her fault. Reborn _has_ been moody lately, which is why everyone left him alone.

"And stop calling me by my name. You don't know who is listening." That proved to be truer than all of them wanted to admit, and so they simply stayed quiet as he walked out of their common room and outside.

When outside, he immediately called Dino, who was there in less than a minute. It was always funny to the hitman how Dino always seemed to arrive right when he needed him.

"Where are we going," Dino asked as he issued Romario to drive.

"Namimori Middle." The blond man gasped, and quickly asked Romario to pick up the pace.

"What happened?"

"My contractor is sending me a distress signal," he replied as a form of an answer. It didn't tell the man much, but he knew that something bad happened enough for Reborn to want to drive there straight instead of running on foot.

"When they do that," he continued, impatiently rubbing one of his sideburns, "that means that their life is in danger. I can't let his life be in danger, not when my role in his life isn't finished."

Dino only hummed in response as Romario speedily entered the school grounds, and parked his car right in front of the entrance of the school.

"Thanks. I might need you later, so-"

"It's fine; get going." Quickly, Reborn walked inside of the building, and immediately spotting the now drying trail of blood, started to walk even faster, now moving into a fast walking pace. He stretched his ears to hear any sound, any sound whatsoever, and hearing a child's distressed cries, started to quickly jog to that location.

Suddenly becoming quiet, Reborn quickly studied the situation; there were about twenty two kids in the grand space of the classroom, and two kids in the middle...no...was that _Gokudera_? And the person on top of him...there was no way...

All of a sudden, the words that Tsuna, Dino's strangest fascination, said came into his head.

_"One of my classmates named Gokudera helps me out a lot..." _And just like that, the situation between those two made sense. Tsuna was on top of the boy, sheltering him from all the attacks the other students. His arm, from the look of it, was shattered. At least, the bones in the inside were. But Tsuna was protecting Gokudera from the attacks.

Because he wanted to thank him.

"I might just owe this kid one," Reborn growled as he pushed open the door. And like a performance, all eyes turned to him.

* * *

After Tsuna defended Gokudera from the harsh desk attack, the silverette's malachite eyes shot up to his pained expression.

"What the fuck are you _doing_ here, Sawada?" Tsuna wanted to answer him; he really did, but the pain inflicted from the attack prevented him to do so. He could only flicker his eyes briefly at his classmate, and laugh bitterly. What _was_ he doing there? Why _didn't_ he run away like he used to? What was wrong with him?

But he didn't even have a chance to breath and retaliate because the students, who were shell-shocked at Tsuna's appearance, started to giggle before throwing their heads back and laughing hard.

"I-it's No-good Tsuna!" One of them pointed a finger at Tsuna's now very bruised arm. "So it is true when they say that idiots flock together like sheep."At the pun, everyone laughed at them, jeering and spitting and pointing their chubby little fingers in their direction. Some of the students continued to kick and punch at the two, but instead of hurting Gokudera, they hurt Tsuna. And Tsuna, unlike his nickname, did not run away like a coward, but due to his arm, he could not move. So instead, he acted like a barrier and took everything Gokudera would have received.

"What the hell are you doing, idiot? Move out of the way!" But Tsuna only shook his head.

"Why?! I did nothing to deserve-"

"You helped me..." Tsuna winced as a foot kicked him right in the butt, sending him forward, but he moved right back to where he was before.

"What do you mean, I 'helped you'?"

"You..." Tsuna started, and then gasped for another breath when a foot hit the arm that was most likely broken, "always told me when my classmates hid my desk; you always made excuses for when I was late...and..." He coughed up saliva, which hit the cheek of the other boy, who didn't care in the slightest.

"You were always honest. You...were one of the few who never lied to me. I...always wanted to thank you...but..." He gasped again as a fist smacked his thigh.

"I...never got the chance...to..." He coughed again, this time a bit of blood, as someone punched his back very hard. Tsuna felt like he was about to pass out-but he couldn't. No, if he passed out, he would leave Gokudera vulnerable to the students in this horrible, biased school. No, he would stay conscious, stay awake until they were done or until someone-

_Srrk!_

The door swung open with a slick sound, and everything went silent. All of the students, Tsuna and Gokudera included, looked towards the door, towards the new person who was the new player in this sick game. And only two people knew who he was.

"Reborn..." Said man looked _very_ angry, like he was about to shoot someone at that very second, and ironically, he did. In less than five seconds did he shoot everyone in the room excluding Tsuna and Gokudera, who watched him wide-eyed as he started using everyone for target practice. The constant _boom_ sound could be heard as Reborn did of pattern of shooting everyone in the leg, or in the arm.

Leg, arm, leg, leg, arm, leg, arm, arm, arm, leg, leg...

Once he was done, everyone fell over in pain as blood started to pool on the floors. He didn't demand everyone to leave; instead, he roughly asked Tsuna:

"Can you walk?" The boy nodded weakly as he stumbled his way up, glancing at the bag of thumbtacks he had left in the hallways beside the door. He then turned his sight back onto Reborn, who was about to pick up Gokudera when he objected.

"Carry Sawada, not me. I can walk-"

"But Tsuna isn't my contracte, you are. My first priority is you above all else." As he said this, he spared a glimpse as Tsuna, who was wobbling his way out the door. Feeling guilt pang his stomach, he changed his mind and called him back.

"Tsuna." The brunette stopped, and turned back to him weakly. His face was pale, and his legs were shaking, almost as if he was going to faint any second. But that made sense. He was the one who took Gokudera's beating.

Briskly, he walked up to the boy, and in one motion, picked him up and adjusted him on his back. He was about to tell the boy to hold onto him when he noticed that one of his arms was badly discolored.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Oh..." Laughing weakly, he quickly thought up a lie. "I fell down some stairs earlier." He thought, like always, that his lies would work. But it didn't. Not on Reborn, at least.

"Stop lying," he quickly snarled, "and tell me the truth. Last time, I went along with it because Dino was there. This time, I will not. Now, what happened to you?"

There was silence, pardon the taps of Gokudera walking to the door. But the silence broke when Tsuna started to respond quietly.

"...esk..."

"What?"

"I got hit by...a desk..."

"Who did it," Reborn pressured the boy, turning to the crowd of students on the ground. "Point to him."

Now _this_ was the time that Tsuna could get revenge if he wanted to. This was the time that he could tell Reborn the person, and watch as the ruthless man tore that boy to shreds for hurting his contractor and his friend's precious brother. This was that time that if Tsuna wanted to laugh at their incompetence, he could. And loudly too.

But...as he watched the students, the students who bullied him since he was in the first grade, the students who laughed and scorned him arching over in pain, he found that he couldn't do it. He couldn't hurt them like that.

"It's..." His eyes trailed over the perpetrator, the one who threw the desk at him, and watched as he writhed in pain and stared fearfully at him.

"It's-"

"It's him, Reborn-san." Reborn darted his eyes to the student Gokudera pointed to, watching as he started to sweat. And then, almost as if a switch came on, the hitman's face morphed into a sadistic grin, and with Tsuna still on his back, started to saunter his way to the student, like a lion to it's prey.

"So you're the one who hurt my friend's brother." The student sputtered, moving back at a relatively fast pace, that is, until he hit the wall.

"W-what? N-no-good Tsuna never had a-"

"Oh yes, he does," the older man interjected as he pointed his gun. "And he'd do a lot worse than what I'm about to do, so be thankful _I'm_ the one who found this mess."

As he pulled the trigger multiple times, Tsuna knew that he would be hearing those screams at night.

* * *

"He's taking too long," Dino exclaimed as he bounced his foot up and down. "You think Reborn is-?"

"He's the number one hitman of SAGP," Romario reminded him pointedly. "You should know nothing bad will happen."

"I know, but-"

"Look!" Romario jerked his thumb out the window, and Dino followed his gaze to see Reborn and...Tsuna?! But...why Tsuna? Gokudera made sense; he was Reborn's current contracte, after all. But Tsuna...? Why him?

He quickly got out the car and opened the door for the three of them.

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you when we start driving," Reborn replied, looking a bit tired. But then again, why shouldn't he be? Today wasn't the easiest day after all. He glanced at his watch. And to think it's only three in the afternoon...

As the three got in the car, Romario revved the engine and started to drive.

"So. What happened?"

"I don't know the full story," the hitman stated as he glanced at a now unconscious Tsuna and a very tired Gokudera. "But I can tell you what I saw. I saw my contracte on the floor, coated with sweat, and Tsuna hanging over him like a barrier. I saw an unusual amount of kids surrounding them, punching and kicking at your friend. Apparently, Tsuna wanted to protect my contracte as a 'thank you' for always helping him. This got him bruises, cuts, and a very questionably shattered arm." The blond gasped as he looked back, observing his cuts and bruises, and yes, a terribly swollen and discolored arm. It wasn't just one part; no, that would be too easy. His whole arm was discolored, from the very shoulder down.

"And...?"

"I got in there and shot them up."

"What! You didn't-"

"No, I didn't kill them, if that's what you're about to say," the man cut in. "But I did put someone right close to it. I shot him up a few times because he was the one who bruised your friend's arm there." Dino could only breathe out a sigh of relief. If Reborn killed someone due to his anger, that would cause problems. Big problems.

"And you didn't like Tsuna."

"Of course I didn't. The way you made him sound was like this angel who was God-sent and could do no harm. You and I know that _no one_ is like that. However..." He stretched across Gokudera, who now slept peacefully, to touch Tsuna's hair and ruffle it.

"This kid definitely is noble, I'll give him that." He smiled warmly at the boy for the first time;it was too bad Tsuna wasn't awake to see it.

It was quiet for a while, besides Tsuna and Gokudera's snoring of course, but it was peacefully quiet, a melody of silence that Reborn often took solace in.

And then Dino just had to ruin it by saying something.

"You need to fix that paranoid personality you have," Dino commented sagely as they neared the Namimori Hospital. The hitman cringed, fighting the urge viciously to say something harsh.

"Shut it. I told you my reasons for not liking him at first. The questions I provided him were easy and predictable. Besides, you wouldn't have let him take the 'test' if you knew he would fail. Sometimes, I think you're worse than his actual brother."

"Oh, no, I'm not. He's way too overprotective-"

"As you are."

Silence.

"...We need to get them inside as soon as possible." He diverged form the original argument, and walah, it worked.

"Hn. I'll put them in the emergency section. You do what you have to do." The blond nodded, jerking his head once before he started to leave. Before he did, he turned back to the hitman, who was carrying both both boys like a sack of flour.

"Reborn?" Said man turned briefly to meet his eyes, wondering what else Dino had wanted. But it wasn't that Dino had wanted anything, it was more like he wanted to say something.

"Thank you."

* * *

A/R: BAD ENDING! I am so, so sorry! I wanted to make the ending more like "BOOM" and "BAM!" and "CHICKA-CHICKA-" okay, you get it. But seriously, hope you guys enjoyed this one, because this is the last chapter for quite a while. I might make a quick one-shot once in a while, maybe over the weekends or something, but now it's EDUCATION, BABY!~

*cough*

**Paine:** Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know it was sooo angsty, but I couldn't help it!

*****Oh wait, wait, wait..._'their'_..okay. I put their instead of him or he/she because of the fact I wanted to make the person's gender unknown. I know it's generally grammatically incorrect, but let me have my fun. You learned a lot from this chapter, didn't you?

Edit: I hate you too, Mr. Edit. I visited you THREE times and-

Please give me some feedback to eat when I come back. *Smiles*


	5. Road to Recovery

**Darkest Desires**

Rated: T+

Summary: _"I don't mind abiding by your wishes," Reborn drawled, causing a shiver of fear to run down Tsuna's thin spine. "But I have a request of my own." The boy swallowed._

_"What is it?"_

_"If I fulfill your every command, you must fulfill a certain desire of mine..."_

As far back as he could remember, Tsuna was always bullied by his classmates. Throwing his desk out a window, writing hateful comments on his papers, ripping up his homework, all of those things constituted in his daily life. It only got worse as he got older. Maybe it was around this time when he heard from one of his classmates about a certain site. On this site, if you gave them your personal information and a reason for visiting, one of the seven would attend to whatever it is that you needed. Tsuna thought this was the perfect solution to his bullying. But the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

A/N: 100+ follows...*pinches cheek* This...isn't a dream, is it? Oh god, I could only DREAM of so many people following my story chapter for chapter, word for word. Thank you. Thank you SO much! And thank you for 60+ favorites. You rock, guys, you rock...now...if only more people gave me some criticism on my chapters, I could die happy. Actually, no, I got a lot of criticism on this chapter and the last one. That makes me very happy.

But...I am not very confident with this chapter. Because I rushed to get everything going (that includes Insignificant, everyone!), I feel like the chapters that I am making aren't...good, you know? The next chapter will be better, because THAT one I will have more time to prepare. But for this chapter, I ask that you please bare with me. *Sigh* I am introducing some new characters (unless you read Solus) and some new ideas, so don't think that this is simply filler alone. *Sigh* But in any case, that's the deal, so don't expect it to be as good as the last one!

I am also thinking of making my chapters longer...hope you guys don't mind.

**Warnings:** language, angst, slight OOC

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Yeah.

Enjoy!~

* * *

_Click. Click._

_Beep. Beep._

"The person you have called is not available at this time. Please leave a message after the tone."

_Beep._

"Uh, hi Giotto," Dino nervously bit out as he was returning to Namimori Hospital, where Tsuna and Gokudera both stayed at. "I am calling to see how you are doing...how is everyone in Italy? We really haven't talked much, so I thought it would be nice to start now. And...you told me to give you a buzz if Tsuna ever got hurt. Well, here I am." He didn't want to tell the man that the only reason why that he is even mentioning it is because he was coming back to Japan in two days, so he simply swallowed back what he was originally going to say.

"I'll pay for the bill, so you don't have to worry about it." _Just come home_, are the words he wanted to say, but after putting his longtime crush through such pain nine years ago, he couldn't bare to say that. He couldn't imagine the look of disgust on Giotto's face if he said that. Speaking of which, did Giotto forgive him? Was he still angry at him for what he did nine years ago? Or has he forgotten about it?

"T-Tsuna was trying to help a friend," Dino continued, knowing that his friend would want to know the reason why his baby brother was hurt enough to go into the hospital. "and he became injured in the process. So you won't see him in the house for a while. "

_Click._

Dino bit his lip again, feeling the skin on his lips part ever so slightly, and licked the drops of blood that escaped from his lips. What would Giotto think? Would he think he was irresponsible for getting his brother injured? Maybe he should have said some sweet comment for his departure...or something.

The man sighed. It made no sense to worry about it now. Tsuna and Gokudera were at the hospital, and it was his job to take care of them. Reborn probably had them covered, but until Giotto showed up to support the two of them fully, Dino would stay by their side.

Said man wondered into the hospital, watching as wheelchairs and hospital beds were being rolled from place to place. It seemed like everyone was being hurt nowadays, and that Tsuna and Gokudera were just one of those people. They weren't anything special; they didn't stick out like lights in a dark place, they were just like anyone else. For some reason, that kind of irked him.

He walked over to the main counter, where countless women and men sat in their dainty chairs and typed the information they were given from the nurses and doctors constantly. A woman glanced up briefly at the person in front of her, but after seeing that he didn't move, she continued to type on her computer. Dino coughed lightly, trying to get her attention.

"Excuse me, Miss." Finally, she gazed at him, watching his expression carefully. Finally, her stony face transformed into a smile, a slightly forced one.

"Yes, How I may help you, sir?"

"I would like to find out what room is Sawada Tsunayoshi and Gokudera Hayato is currently residing in." She nodded and then turned back to her computer, holding up a hand. Unconsciously, she tucked her dark azure-tinted hair behind her ear as she began to type.

"Please wait a moment." She continued to type for a few moments before she finally answered him.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi is in room 402D, which is located on the tenth floor and to the very left of the emergency exit. Gokudera Hayato is in room 592A per his guardian's request. That is on the twelfth floor and is to the very right of the elevator, if you choose to use it. May I please have your name before you leave?"

"Dino Cavallone." She wrote that on a piece of paper before nodding her consent for him to go. Dino quickly bowed before he rushed to the elevator that was to the very right of the reception room. The elevator was rapidly closing, and although it was full to capacity, Dino didn't want to wait the extra two to three minutes for another elevator to come meandering down.

"Excuse me," the young adult yelled. "Please keep that open."

There was a man that was in the very front of the elevator, where the buttons for the floors were, and he quickly shook his head before holding the elevator slider open for him. Dino thanked him and started to get on the elevator...

...when he tripped forward.

Shocked, the man tried to close his eyes and brace himself for the impact. He was, after all, going to collide with the gap between the elevator. And if you didn't know how painful that was, it was the equivalent of stubbing your toe against a hot, metal bar-except it wasn't on your toe. It was on your face.

Damn it, he should have figured that something bad would have happened. For some reason, he was really clumsy, and he didn't know why. Whenever he would run up a bunch of stairs, he would fall forward and smack his forehead into the next step. That was one of the reasons why he now hates stairs and staircases. Another thing that frequently happens to him when he is in a hurry is that he trips over thin air. How does one manage to trip over thin air...? Ask Dino. He should give you an intelligent answer.

That wasn't the time for that, though. Dino was going to get seriously hurt in a hospital, which really was the irony of ironies.

But before his face even met the gap of the elevator, a different man, one that he felt like he recognized, pulled the man against his chest and nodded at the man to release the automatic door. Complying with the stranger, the man who was in front of the elevator took his hand from the door and started asking people on the elevator what floor they wanted to go on. In the meantime, Dino stepped forward a bit from the stranger and his savior and proceeded to turn around to thank the man. Well, at least he assumed it was a man because the hand that the stranger grabbed him with was rather rough and large instead of soft and slender. And the back he collided with, well, let's just say it wasn't the most feminine in the world.

"Thank you very much," Dino breathed as he bowed to the stranger. "I would have been seriously hurt had it not been for you."

"You have no need to thank me, Bucking Bronco," the man hissed lowly as Dino looked up. At the old title, the apricot-kissed man flinched. He wasn't used to hearing that name from anyone, much less a stranger. He darted his head up to take a glimpse of the person, but then froze when he realized who it was that saved him.

Yes, Dino could never forget those sharp obsidian eyes, and that glare that seemed to melt iron. He could never forget that man who used to always wear suits all of the times, no matter where he was. He would never forget that man who used to threaten to kill him one moment, and then help him another. He could never forget the man...the man who stayed with him when he had his guilt trip nine years ago after Spanner, Giotto's close friend and Tsuna's father figure, died.

The CEO's mouth opened wide as he exclaimed in surprise:

"Kyoya?!"

* * *

Clench. Unclench. Cringe. Repeat the process.

Clench. Unclench. Cringe. Repeat the process.

Clench. Unclench. Cringe slightly. Repeat the process.

Clench. Unclench. Cringe slightly. Repeat the process.

Clench. Unclench. Cringe slightly. Repeat the-

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," a female nurse called out from the front of the curtain. "There are several visitors for you. What would you like me to say to them?"

Tsuna thought for a moment, his eyes unfocused as he thought of what to tell the patient lady who was waiting no more than five feet away from him. What should he say to them? _Sorry, I don't want to see them right now?_ No...that sounded a bit cruel and mean. _Yeah, I'll definitely see them! Please bring them in...?_ No, he didn't want to see them right away. He would just make himself look bad, especially since he was not in the mood to talk with anyone. He was sure that after five minutes of talking with him, everyone who visited him would complain how 'rude' and 'curt' and 'horrid' he was acting. But maybe, maybe if they gave him five minutes-no, ten-then he could be able to deal with them with a smile on his face.

"Could you give me ten minutes, please," Tsuna cried out as he heard her speaking to the people outside of the door.

"Yes, of course," she retorted back quickly. To prove her point, she immediately relayed the message to the people waiting outside.

"Sawada-san asks if you can give him a little while to prepare...could you come back in ten minutes?"

Although Tsuna couldn't hear their responses, he did hear the shuffling of feet and the sound of voices gradually becoming faint. He smiled in happiness when he realized that he was by himself. Him, and the next person that was besides him. But that person didn't count, because he was an older man who was a vegetable. Literally. The doctors, from what Tsuna understood, were still trying to help him, but the older man...was pretty much done for. But in any case, he was by himself.

That is, until he heard a familiar voice call out for him.

"Tsuna!" He heard the nurse try to stop him, but then the man whispered something to her, and at once he heard feet approaching the curtain. Tsuna's eyes widened when he realized that the man was about to open up the curtain and talk to him-but he wasn't fully prepared mentally. Physically, he was fine, minus the broken bones that he had to nurture, and the completely torn and broken arm due to the desk incident. He was provided with clothes, so it wasn't like he would be embarrassed if he were seen now. But since then, Tsuna had been thinking a lot. Why was he so stupid as to jump in front of the desk? While Gokudera was out and about, able to do whatever he pleased, Tsuna had to sit there and sit there. He wasn't allowed to move like Gokudera was. Granted, Gokudera still had to stay in the hospital, but at least he was able to breathe some fresh air for the little time he was there. Tsuna, on the other hand, had to lie there, because any movement or stress he placed on his arm exasperated the problem. His ribs also caused a strain for him. Since his ribs were broken, the way he had to breathe was different from most people as well.

The curtain opened to reveal a tall man with a fedora on. Two sideburns hugged the sides of his face, and his face was shadowed, almost if he had a mask on. His suit was still good, just like he remembered it from a few hours ago, but there was a little red residue on the bottom of his pants.

"Re-Reborn..."

"I heard you woke up a while ago. How are you feeling?" Tsuna's face became blank as an exceedingly dark thought came into his head. How was he feeling? How else would he feel right now?

_Fucking peachy_, is what Tsuna wanted to scream in anger and irritation on his part. But he knew if he did that..well...it wasn't the wisest of choices, especially since Reborn was onto him from before.

"I'm fine now; thanks for worrying Reborn," Tsuna mumbled instead, looking at the curtain that was opposite of him. Reborn didn't have to analyze him long to tell that what he said was a complete lie.

"You're lying."

The child sighed. "I'm not. I really am fine, Reborn." He heard the man pull the curtain behind him, and Tsuna wondered with a sinking feeling what the mysterious man had in store for him. Would he become angry? Would he lash out because he lied? What was it?

Tsuna didn't have time to wonder and ponder; a hand shot forward and pinned the side of the boy's head, and Tsuna shivered a bit when he saw the force in which the man gripped the wall. He stared at the hand, and then he cautiously looked back at the man. That was a bad choice, especially when he looked into the deep ebony eyes.

"When you lied to my face when Dino was around," Reborn started carefully, almost like he was trying not to go off on the boy, "I accepted it. When you said that no one bullied you anymore, I accepted that lie as well. Even when you lied to my face about who hurt your arm yesterday evening, I questioned, but I didn't react harshly. But Tsuna, my patience is wearing thin." He sighed and took his hand from the wall. Tsuna's wide-eyes followed it as it returned to it's master's side.

"Gokudera, your classmate and my contracte, has asked me to get along with you. That wouldn't be so bad, but I can't get along with a liar. So you're going to have to start fessing up from now on, no matter how small it is. I don't care how you act towards anyone else out there, but don't you dare lie to me. Understood?"

"Y-yeah." Tsuna didn't question what Reborn meant by a 'contracte', but sometimes it is better to be obliviously blissful than to know and freak out. And if Tsuna freaked out around Reborn, well, you don't know what might happen.

"Now tell me, Tsunayoshi, what is the matter with you why you didn't want anyone to visit you?" The child flinched at his question. So Reborn wasn't one to beat around the bush, huh? Well, what should he tell him? Should he be honest like he suggested? The boy glanced up at Reborn, and flinched again when he did so. He was looking straight into Tsuna's face, not even blinking once, and Tsuna had to clench and unclench his fists to keep from shaking. What was it with Reborn and his stares? It looked like he was looking into someone's soul or something.

"I...needed some time by myself," he confessed, reaching down to grip the sheets that were under him.

"And why is that?"

"..." He paused. Tried to think of a similar answer that was more sugar coated with sprinkles on top than the one he initially wanted to say. But then Reborn just _had_ to ruin it by telling him to be honest.

"Don't sugar coat anything," the hitman hissed as he sat down on the patient's bed next to Tsuna. It was almost like he was reading the boy's mind or something, and that unnerved him a little bit. "Just tell me what's on your mind. No one will hear it, so you don't have to worry about offending anyone."

"It isn't like that," Tsuna quickly defended himself. "I...am not mad at anyone, and I don't wish evil on anyone. It's just...I am jealous, is all. Jealous of those people who have a chance to get up and smell the fresh air, people who have a chance to be fed normally using chopsticks instead of being fed through a painful needle, and people who can freely walk around with no one watching their every move. I...am angry at how I have to stay in bed for weeks, doing absolutely nothing until my body fully recovers. I wanted to get angry, and then clear my head."

_But then you came and messed me up,_ was left unsaid, yet the comment lingered in the air. Reborn didn't have to hear it to know that was on Tsuna's mind, and it made him both amused and irritated at the same time.

"Hn. So are you going to sulk about it for a month until you get released?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Silence.

And then Reborn replied quietly with, "Yeah, you do. I can recommend you to a doctor who can get you patched up and out of the hospital in one week flat. Would you like that, Tsuna?"

Immediately, Tsuna brightened up, and Reborn had this odd mixture of satisfaction and dread on his face. Why he had dread on his face, though, Tsuna didn't know. Was it because he was so happy? No, that didn't make sense. In any case, Tsuna was happy that he had this chance. But why would Reborn do this? Why would Reborn try to help him and all?

"Why...are you doing this?" There was a small pause, and then Reborn adjusted himself on the bed as he quickly darted his eyes to the door and back, almost as if he were afraid of someone hearing what he had to say.

"It is on Gokudera's behalf," Reborn finally answered, looking deep into Tsuna's eyes and searching for a response. But what he wanted was not the facade-created response that he did just so people's opinions of him didn't damper, he wanted his real response.

"I wasn't able to save Gokudera on time although it is my job, and you managed to protect him well enough that he didn't get hurt. I thank you for that," Reborn continued, lowering his head to Tsuna's level. Said boy opened his mouth, and then closed it again. What was he going to say? Was he upset that Reborn did it on the behalf of someone else, and not because of his own wishes?

"I see. How is Gokudera-kun, by the way? I am sure he is probably taking a smoke somewhere around here-but will he be able to leave any time soon?"

"Yes, he leaves in two days. They want to give him a few more tests and receive more results from his body. Besides the bruises and marks he had due to his fight, it also turns out he is a bit stressed, and that is giving him a few phantom symptoms on their radar. They just want to check that out, and then he is free to leave."

Tsuna made a noise of recognition before he looked at the curtain again. He helped Gokudera, yet Gokudera wouldn't even come and see him himself? For some reason, that kind of hurt Tsuna, even more than his arm. But maybe, maybe he was taking a test now, and he couldn't. But he couldn't have tests all day, could he? Just when he thought he made his first friend in the school...

"Reborn."

"Yes?" Tsuna lied down on the bed again, making sure his face was turned away from the hitman.

"When can I see this doctor?"

* * *

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Hibari glowered down at Dino and he, who was used to such expressions, simply stared at him until a higher-pitch voice answered the question for him.

"We're here to visit Tsunayoshi-kun and Gokudera-san. Originally, I was supposed to meet them at their house, but then Giotto called me saying they were at the hospital. He has work here, by the way, which is why we came. Or at least, Hibari-san did. But I just came here to see Tsunayoshi-kun." The child behind Hibari peeked out from the side of him and flashed Dino a bright smile. It took Dino to register who he was, but when he did, he smiled back.

"Tsuna is going to be so surprised to hear his friend is coming to visit him."

"I sure hope so," the boy laughed lightly. "I came all the way from Italy for him."

The three of them got off on the tenth floor first, wanting to see Tsunayoshi. Dino was anxious; he wanted to see how Tsuna was feeling. Basil was excited, however, he had not seen Tsuna in a while. Yeah, he came over once in a while to Japan, but it wasn't everyday, and he missed how he couldn't come everyday to see and greet his best friend.

"It's room 402D," Dino announced, "so it's this way." The trio headed towards the emergency exit, and next to there is where they found a room labeled with Tsuna's name and one other name that they didn't recognize. Dino slid open the door, and immediately a female nurse greeted them at the door. She was young, with jet-black hair pinned back into a neat bun. She had glasses that were almost as bad as his in regards to prescription, but at least hers fit her face very well. Dino's glasses did not.

She peered up at them through her glasses, and after calling out to Tsuna, asking what he wanted her to tell them, she turned back to them with a professional smile on her face.

"Sawada-san asks if you can give him a little while to prepare...could you come back in ten minutes?" The three all glanced at each other with a raised eyebrow. Why would Tsuna need time? Was he not presentable? Or maybe he was anxious and needed time? Yes, that must be it.

"Of course." Dino quickly thanked her before the three of them retreated back to the elevator. He was a little upset that he couldn't see his friend, but he could always look at him later. When they finally came to the elevator, he pressed an arrow button, and immediately, the door opened. The three of them came face to face with Reborn, who had a scowl on his face.

"What's wrong," Basil questioned, grabbing the man's sleeve as he came out of the elevator. "Why do you look like that?"

But Reborn simply waved him off with an impatient wave. "I'm fine, Basil."

"Where are you going, then?"

"I'm going to see Sawada Tsunayoshi," he barked with a sharp tone. "Since Gokudera obviously has no respect, I am going to see how Tsuna is doing."

"We just went to see him." Dino quickly tried to stop him with his words, but Reborn just kept on walking. "He doesn't want anyone in there for a while." Just like what Dino wanted, Reborn did stop, but it was only for a moment to study their expressions. After he came to some sort of conclusion, Reborn simply turned back and continued to walk to the emergency exit.

"It'll be fine," he countered. "Tsuna will let me in." Again, he continued to walk, and was almost as the emergency exit. The two of them (since Hibari had long went on the elevator to greet Gokudera) watched as Reborn approached Tsuna's room, met the nurse, said something to her, and then went inside. And to their amazement, he didn't come back out.

"What do you think Reborn told her," Basil asked with an open mouth.

"I don't know," the older man replied stiffly, a little hurt that Tsuna accepted Reborn and not him, "but it's not our place to butt in. Let's greet Gokudera-kun and see how he is doing."

They were able to get on the elevator and proceed to go to Gokudera's room. After all, it was right next to the elevator that was on the twelfth floor. But when Dino and Basil started to turn the knob and open the door, they heard noises. To be more exact, they heard Gokudera and Hibari talking.

"...landed...hospital..."

Slowly and quietly, Basil turned the knob and cracked open the door so they could hear what the two were discussing. Dino knew that if they were to open the door now, the conversation between the two would cease, and they would talk about something different altogether. Besides, it looks like it concerns Tsuna, anyways, if they're talking about the hospital.

"...on Friday after school," Dino and Basil heard Gokudera croak, "that is when I heard what the guys in my pathetic class were going to do to Sawada. I really didn't care much, because Sawada has nothing to do with me, but then they asked me to join them on Sunday. I declined, saying that I wasn't interested. But then they threatened me, threatened me with violence if I didn't come. So I came, just to satisfy their pathetic wants."

"Hn. So what were they going to do to Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Hibari was leaning against the bed's headrest, and he gazed steadily at Gokudera, who was sitting cross-legged on said bed. His hair was in a ponytail as it often was, and the boy switched the uniform that the hospital gave him to wear with a pair of short pants and a black shirt. His glasses were on, almost like he had finished reading something, and a disgruntled look was on his face. So he wasn't happy to be in the hospital, either.

"They wanted to beat him up, beat him to the point of death, and anyone who opposed would suffer the same fate," Gokudera muttered angrily as he bit the inside of his cheek. "Twenty of them came to the agreement that they would beat him up until he couldn't move for a year. I didn't think they were serious, which is also why I came yesterday to school. I wanted to see if they were really going to hurt Sawada for real. But I guess that if five could beat them, twenty of them could as well."

"As you know, Sawada can't fight to save his life, and he is probably one of the most asinine people out there," the boy continued, taking in a deep breath. "So I was going to take them down myself, especially since they would probably hunt Tsuna down to do just that. But there is one thing I can give them credit for, and that is persistence. I fought with them for hours, and by the time mid-morning came, I was...tired. It was around that point that Tsuna came and shielded me with his body. He held his ground well until Reborn-san came, and as soon as he did, well, all of the energy that was inside of him vanished. Ever since then, I have been feeling worse then ever. How come the person I wanted to protect help me instead?" The boy slammed his hand on the wall hard, and Hibari watched as the white paint that was there flaked away.

"Reborn-san told me to at least visit him. I told him that I didn't want to. I really don't want to see Sawada, because the guilt would come back and slap me in the face. He was upset that I didn't take his advice, but then when I told him to do it himself, he blew a fuse at me and almost shot my leg off for being so conceited and self-centered. Hence," Gokudera moved his left leg from the edge of the bed, "the hole that is right there."

"Oh," Dino whispered softly, "so that's why Reborn was mad before." The two friends glanced at each other before getting up and opening the door all of the way.

"I was wondering when you would come inside, Bucking Bronco," Hibari hissed as he glared at the two of them. "Your eavesdropping is dutifully noted, and is not appreciated."

"We wouldn't eavesdrop if you always told us everything," the blond man retorted back with a sardonic tone in his voice. But then, almost as if a switch was flipped, Dino was calm again, and he turned to Gokudera with a small smile on his face.

"You know, I am sure Tsuna would be glad to see you right now," Dino stated. "I think he refused us-Kyoya, Basil and I, because he wanted to see you first. I don't think you should be guilty. If anything, I think you should be happy. Tsuna helps people who he feels that they need the help, or helps those that are his friends. And let me tell you something, Gokudera-kun, Tsuna really likes you. When Reborn first met him, he mentioned you a lot. He appreciates you because you always helped him. And I am sure that he wants to be your friend."

"'ts got nothing to do with friendship," Gokudera huffed angrily, "It has to do with-"

"You could always make it up to him," Basil asserted in with a serious expression on his face. "Maybe he helped you this time and he became badly injured. But what about the next time something happens? You could help him then, you know. You don't have to shy away because of this one thing. It might be on your consciousness that the person you wanted to save saved you instead, but think of it as a motive to try harder."

The silverette peered at him through his glasses. "You think so?"

The boy smiled. "I know so, because Tsuna helped me a while back as well."

Nodding, Gokudera got up out of bed. Because he was a 'low-maintenance' patient, he was able to do as he wished, as long as he came back before any tests were administered. And now, Gokudera found out that this was more of an advantage than a disadvantage.

As soon as Gokudera was at the door, Dino slid it open, and all of them went out.

"You think it's been ten minutes already?" Gokudera scratched his head as he looked down at the pocket watch that Reborn once owned.

"Probably so." They all went on the elevator, traveling in silence, and then when they got out of the elevator, they strolled to the emergency exit. Although Gokudera agreed to see Tsuna, his heart was pounding faster than his head was. He constantly bit his cheek, hoping to calm his nerves, but all it did was increase his nervousness.

At last, the four were in front of Tsuna's room. Again, Dino gave it a short rap, and again, the female nurse decided to answer the door. When Basil looked inside, he saw that there was a male doctor that was in front of the curtain, watching the patient that was next to Tsuna carefully for any changes. But when there was none, he simply shook his head, wrote something down on his chart sheet, and left the room.

"We are able to see Sawada Tsunayoshi now, correct?" The nurse glanced at Hibari before nodding quickly.

"You may proceed to enter." She moved to the side so they could enter the room, and the three males stared at Gokudera with a worried expression. Well, two of them really, since Hibari just gave him a blank expression before walking inside.

"Are you ready?" Was Gokudera ready? The fourteen year old boy bit his cheek once more, clenched his fists, and shook his head. If he didn't see Tsuna now, he felt like he would never be able to.

It was now or never.

* * *

A/N: AH! I KNEW this would be a bad chapter. But I am almost done with Insignificant, and like you all wanted, I will have the sequel by Tuesday or Wednesday. So don't be angry at me for this sucky chapter!

See, what it is is that this is another one of those transitioning chapters, where this chapter acts as a leverage to develop this story to another level. I don't know why, but I am not good with these. I won't tell you everything, but since Gokudera and everyone met...things...will happen...and stuff. In any case, I am sorry for this!

I think I made some mistakes in here, but it took me a while to write it. I am sure I will visit Mr. Edit's house again for tea and crumpets, but for now, I am going to catch some Z's.

Please tell me what you think about this chapter! I am so nervous for it, you know?!


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